Aleksei Ivanovich Bugayev (; 25 August 1981 – 29 December 2024) was a Russian professional footballer who played as a defender.

Club career

Bugayev played for

Tom Tomsk FC Tom Tomsk () was a Russian professional football club, based in the Siberian city of Tomsk. The team played in Trud Stadium (Tomsk) before being dissolved in 2022. History The team was previously named ''Burevestnik'' (1957), ''Tomich'' (195 ...

Torpedo Moscow Football Club Torpedo Moscow (, ''FK Torpedo Moskva''), known as Torpedo Moscow, is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. The club will return to the Russian Premier League in the 2025–26 season. Their c ...

Lokomotiv Moscow FC Lokomotiv Moscow (, ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. Lokomotiv have won the Russian Premier League on three occasions; the Soviet Cup twice; and the Russian Cup (football), Russian Cup a record ...

Khimki Khimki (, ) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located approximately northwest from central Moscow, and is part of the Moscow metropolitan area. History Origins and formation Khimki was initially a railway station that had existed sin ...

, and

Krasnodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

International career

Bugayev made his debut for the Russia national team in 2004, playing 90 minutes in a friendly match against

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

ending in a goalless draw. He was then included in the squad at the

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...

. He was an unused substitute in the 1–0 loss against Spain, but played the full 90 minutes in the 0–2 loss to Portugal and in the 2–1 win against Greece. He earned three more caps in 2006 World Cup qualification, playing 90 minutes in 4–0 wins against both

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

and a 1–7 loss against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. His last appearance for Russia was in a friendly against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in 2005. He retired from his career in 2010.

Personal life and death

Bugayev had issues with alcohol addiction throughout his adult life and retired early from playing football at the age of 29. He worked for a recycling business after retirement but turned to crime to pay for his alcohol debts. On 28 October 2023, Bugayev was arrested in

in possession of 495 grams of

mephedrone Mephedrone, also known as , , and , is a synthetic stimulant drug belonging to the amphetamine and cathinone classes. It is commonly referred to by slang names such as drone, , white magic, meow meow, and bubble. Chemically, it is similar to ...

. On 24 September 2024, he pled guilty to drug distribution and was sentenced to 9.5 years of imprisonment. While imprisoned, Bugayev sought to enlist in the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

to participate in the

war against Ukraine The following is a list of major conflicts fought by Ukraine, by Ukrainian people or by regular armies during periods when List of tribes and states in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, independent states existed on the Geography of Ukraine, modern ...

. On 29 December 2024, Bugayev was killed fighting for Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. Due to his death in the war zone, his body could not be immediately recovered.

Honours

Russian Super Cup The Russian Super Cup () is a one-match football (soccer), football annual competition. Its official sponsored name is ''OLIMPBET Russian Supercup'' (). The two participating clubs are the Russian Premier League champions and the Rambler Russian ...

: 2005 *

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; , ''Rossiyskaya premyer-liga''; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was establis ...

third place: 2005

References

External links

Profile at RussiaTeam
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bugayev, Aleksei 1981 births 2024 deaths 21st-century Russian sportsmen Russian men's footballers Footballers from Moscow Men's association football defenders Russia men's international footballers Russia men's under-21 international footballers UEFA Euro 2004 players Russian Premier League players FC Khimki players FC Krasnodar players FC Lokomotiv Moscow players FC Tom Tomsk players FC Torpedo Moscow players Russian sportspeople convicted of crimes Russian prisoners and detainees People convicted of drug offenses Russian military personnel killed in the Russian invasion of Ukraine